The Jenna Thing
' The Jenna Thing' is the accident during which Alison, Spencer, Emily, Aria and Hanna blinded Jenna Marshall. Incident Night of July 4, 2009 It all starts when Alison and the girls are getting dressed in Emily's room. Alison is looking at herself in the mirror, when all of a sudden she claims she spotted Toby peeping through the bedroom window while the girls were getting dressed. This was later proven to be a lie, but the reason why Alison lied about seeing Toby peeping is still unknown. Alison says that Toby is a pervert and that he probably saw them naked. When Aria asks if they should tell someone what just happened, Alison says that she has a better idea. Alison's plan is to go to Toby's house to set off what she claims is a stink bomb in the garage (which was Toby's hangout at the time). Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer don't think it's a good idea. Emily wants to go back and Aria suggests to tell everything to the cops, but Alison isn't willing to change her mind. When asked by Spencer if she's sure that Toby was the one spying on them, Alison says that she's completely sure. The Liars don't have the courage to stand up to Alison, who eventually manages to persuade them. Alison tells them that it was a harmless prank to teach Toby a lesson and assures them that no one is inside. She gets a lighter from Spencer and lights the stink bomb. After opening the garage back door, Alison looks quickly inside and then she throws the stink bomb into the garage. She immediately closes the door and she tells the girls to run, without saying what she has just seen inside. The girls are running while the stink bomb, which is actually a firecracker, causes an explosion and the garage catches fire. As the Liars stop and turn around to see the fire, they hear a scream coming from inside the garage: it's Jenna, who will end up blind due to the explosion. The Liars then, afraid, run away. Hanna insists that they go to the cops and fess up, only to be yelled at and mocked by Alison. Aria stands up to her and defends Hanna. Toby lies to the police about the incident, saying it was he who set the garage on fire after Alison blackmails him with information about his and Jenna's physical relationship, thus making "The Jenna Thing" a huge secret for Aria, Hanna, Emily and Spencer, who were accomplices to Alison's prank and all lied to the police about it. Jenna also keeps quiet about the truth, lying in order to protect her own secret (coercing her stepbrother to be intimate with her), after Alison blackmails her at the hospital the day she disappeared. Even when Alison dies, however, Jenna continues to keep the truth behind this incident a secret. The Aftermath Before she disappears, Alison tells her older brother, Jason, the story, reversing hers and Spencer's roles in the story. She makes it seem as though it was Spencer's idea, Spencer's execution, and Spencer who pressures the others. Jason seems to believe the story and reveals to Spencer that he knows Alison's version of events when he goes back to Rosewood to plan Alison's memorial. Spencer seems to contradict him but it is unclear whether Spencer gave him the real version of events and whether his opinion is subsequently changed. Spencer blackmails Alison before she dies. When Alison threatens to expose Spencer's past relationship with Ian to Melissa, Spencer retorts that she would expose Alison's role in "The Jenna Thing." Probably trying to avoid exposure, Alison tells her brother a different version so that, if Spencer ever comes out with her version, Jason will believe Alison as she voluntarily revealed her story. Toby is sent to a reform school for a year after the incident. Category:Event